Overnight rainfall: A snapshot of the UK last night at 7pm, midnight, and 4am on Friday morning

Not much use: Clifton Ings washlands in York, intended to combat flooding, are submerged under water

Doomed: Spencer Court in Tyneside (pictured) will be demolished after its foundations were washed away by raging flood waters

Most counties will see almost an inch – an amount which is normally no cause for concern, but forecasters warned of a ‘cumulative effect’ in areas where the ground is still sodden from last month’s downpours.

A Met Office spokesman said: ‘Even relatively low rainfall could cause a problem because after such a lot of rain at the end of September there is still a lot of water in the ground.

‘With rain last night, more on Friday and then more on Sunday, it is the cumulative effect that could be a problem.’